The Hunter and His Prey
by JokertheMatrix
Summary: Devil and Angel AU. One-shot. To search was his purpose, to search for the beast that had done him wrong. Partner fic to "A Game of Cat and Mouse". Rated T for swearing and violence among other things.


_Before you read, keep in mind that this is not a Valentine's Day fic and has absolutely nothing involved with Valentine's Day at all. It's uploaded on V-day though, so happy Valentine's Day. _

_Anyways, this is the partner fic of "A Game of Cat and Mouse" and features Arthur's side of the story (I suggest you read both for full understanding). I hope you enjoy!_

_P.S. Anything I reference and use for inspiration does not belong to me. Same goes for Hetalia and its characters._

* * *

Arthur flew cautiously above the masses of people, afraid to touch any of them despite the fact that they could neither see him nor feel him. Skyscrapers loomed over at his side, the road on Arthur's other. The noise was unbearable with the combined noises of cars honking and people chattering away, but Arthur managed to block the sounds out.

_It's so hot…_ Sweat clung to Arthur like a fly as the sun sent out harsh waves of heat. _Why is this world so hot? Oh well, I'm glad they can't see me…_ Like the rest of his kind, Arthur wore a toga that was slung over his left shoulder and exposed his right. He also wore a small rope that was strung around his waist which made the material below it look like a skirt, and he wore brown sandals that were laced up all the way up to his knees. His toga was usually longer than this, but unfortunately, he had accidentally shrunk his toga in a magic exercise so now it could barely cover his parts. _ I'm just glad that it didn't shrink even further… _He chuckled to himself. _Look at me,_ _worrying about something as trivial as my toga size when I have bigger things to worry about…_

It happened during school today. They were learning about portals, which were what allowed supernatural beings to visit the other world. Portals were one of the essentials their kind needed to know, although the earliest they could learn the skill was when they were the human equivalent of thirteen years old, which was Arthur's age. For today's class, their teacher had explained to them that portals only went one-way and that to go from one world to another, they'd have to summon one portal to get to the other world and then another one to get back.

During their lesson, their teacher had summoned up a portal as an example. He allowed the students to go near the portal for inspection, although they weren't supposed to get too close to it. One touch would send them over to the human world, he had said, and that since he hadn't had a set destination in mind upon creating the portal, it would send whoever had touched it to some random place. When it was Arthur's turn to inspect the portal, he had tripped over (he was so excited he forgot to fly) and had fallen into the portal. Seeing as how magical beings didn't have a radar or such to look for one another (exempting the sixth sense siblings had that could tell when one was close to the other), Arthur was by himself until rescue came. Alone, in who-knew-where in the human world, and was easy pickings for their enemies.

Brilliant.

_I wish Flying Mint Bunny was with me…_ No doubt Arthur's little companion was worried about him. They had known each other for practically their whole life, so it was rare for the two to be separated; in some ways, the little bunny-like creature was more family to him than his actual family. The only time the little bunny wasn't with him was when he was in school (angelic creatures not of the school weren't allowed on school grounds) and now Arthur was alone in a foreign world without him. Without the bunny's calming presence, Arthur felt even more shaky and nervous than he should have been. _I just wish someone would save me already and bring me back to our world…_

Before he knew it, Arthur found himself wandering through a park. His mood brightened as he watched the humans go about their activities, passing by a couple having a picnic under the shade of a tree and an elder jogging on the dirt road. Like some other species, Arthur's kind became energized in the presence of certain emotions, although it varied slightly with each individual. Angels felt more energy being around positive emotions in general, but Arthur in particular felt strengthened being in the presence of innocent joy. Being surrounded by this much, Arthur couldn't help but lose his sour mood as well as become more energized.

_I can't wait until I'm a full-fledged angel!_ He thought as he produced a lollipop for a little girl who was crying nearby. The young child looked astonished when she found it on her lap, but accepted the piece of candy with a smile. Arthur grinned. It was in their blood to love to help others, and Arthur was no exception. _I can't do much now, but think of the people I could help once I'm more skilled!_

The thought made Arthur smile as he flew away from the girl. _Humans are really interesting…_ He thought suddenly as he just hovered in place. _They switch easily from emotion to emotion, and yet no matter what, they all aim for one thing: to be happy. I wonder, what drives them to do so?_

As Arthur pondered that question, the air around him suddenly grew cold despite the fact that the temperature hadn't changed at all. _What in the world?_ He found himself shivering despite the hot weather. _What is this?_

On instinct, Arthur followed the source of the cold. He hid behind a nearby tree when he had found where the sensation was strongest, which happened to be near two other humans. The tree was a few feet away from a park bench that was at the side of a dirt path. A quaint light blue baby carriage stood near the bench, his mother sitting on the bench itself.

_The feeling comes from here, but why…?_ Arthur tilted his head in confusion as he watched the mother fan herself. _Just what am I doing here? _As far as he knew, no other angels shivered violently in warm weather nor did they ever have to follow a mysterious force that somehow produced an unnatural cold. _How odd…_

Still, Arthur didn't dare leave. He waited a while until finally, the mother stood up and left, presumably to go to the water fountain nearby. As soon as the mother left, Arthur's shivers became more violent. _What the…?_

He turned his eyes back to the baby and was horrified to see a new being approach it. He saw the foreign being scowl at the baby and then circled around the baby in flight. The being's mouth moved as he spoke to the baby, no doubt taunting the baby or mocking him or her.

_What should I do?_ Arthur couldn't control his shivering. It was obvious that despite his appearance, the young male devil was powerful. Arthur had never met a devil beyond this one, but he knew that this one was abnormally strong for his age. _As much as I'd like to, I can't possibly take him on!_ His magic was woefully basic and he had no weapons with him, rendering him practically useless in combat.

He watched helplessly as the young devil laughed and snapped his fingers. The baby started to cry, its cries intensifying as the devil kept on snapping his fingers. Hidden to mortal eyes, Arthur could see an ice blue blanket of energy envelop the baby as the devil used his magic.

_M-make it stop!_ Arthur closed his eyes and covered his ears as the baby's wails grew louder. His shivering was practically uncontrollable now. _Please, j-just stop! _

Arthur could hear the devil laughing from where he was. He heard snatches of conversation, but was too preoccupied to even register what the devil was even saying. He opened an eye to see the devil circling the baby yet again before stopping in front of the carriage. From here, he could see the devil close his eyes in concentration. Arthur's eyes widened. _N-no…_

He watched as the baby carriage was slowly lifted up with the boy's magic. Once it was a few feet high, the baby carriage started to rotate. _He's going to tip the baby carriage!_ He realized as the baby carriage gradually became closer to turning over.

Adrenaline pumped through him as he flew as fast as he could towards the devil. He slammed into the other, causing them both to fall. He felt the devil twist under him, leaving Arthur to hit the ground with nothing to cushion his fall. His side hit the grass painfully, the shock of the impact paralyzing him for a while.

"Damn it all!" Arthur winced at the foul language used by the other. He sensed the other's magic leave the baby. "The only fun I manage to have in who-knows-how-long and it just _has_ to get ruined! I don't care _what_ species you are, but don't you think that's overstepping your boundaries a litt-? …Well, well, what do we have here?"

Arthur gained enough feeling to prop himself up on his elbows. The devil was now hovering a few inches away from him as he looked at Arthur with interest. The devil wore a navy blue vest with golden buttons over a white short-sleeved shirt with dark blue shorts and dress shoes. He had night black wings and a matching tail that flicked every now and then. Tousled raven black hair framed the other's face with a fly-away piece of hair sticking up from the right side of his head, stubby horns on both side of his head. He had a sort of dangerous charm to him, but that wasn't what distracted Arthur.

_Oh no…_ The devil fixed Arthur with hungry ice blue eyes, as if he was a predator looking at his prey. _That devil's attention is at me, and he's a powerful one at that…_

This was going to suck.

"And here I thought that angels were supposed to be the good guys…" The devil was smirking at him, his face unbearably close to his. "Aren't you guys prohibited from coming to the human world until you're 'properly aged' or something?"

"S-same goes f-for you!" Arthur hated how fear had crept up on his voice. "E-even your kind has r-rules about going to the h-human world!"

The devil seemed faintly amused. "Ah, but I'm a devil, remember? I don't need to follow rules. But when all is said and done, it really doesn't change the fact that you ruined my fun." Arthur flinched. From the sounds of it, this wasn't going to end well for him."Oh? Are you nervous? Don't be, it's only a _little_ punishment."

"I-I…" Arthur wished with all his heart that someone was going to save him, but help didn't seem to be coming anytime soon. He pushed the devil away, trying to get the other away from him as much as possible. "I'm not afraid of you, you… you…"

"Troublemaker? Hellion? Impudent little imp?" The devil had on a smug grin. "And here I was led to believe that it were the _devils_ who are supposed to be the stupid ones…"

_How dare he!_ Arthur felt blood rush to his head. _I will _not _stand to have my kin insulted like this! _Still, Arthur couldn't deny that the other could probably do away with him any second now. _Someday I'll be able to do him and his kind justice for insulting us, but for now, I have to flee!_

"You shut it! I don't need to be around the likes of you!" With a huff, Arthur flew off, trying to go as fast as his wings allowed him. Unfortunately, the devil managed to catch up when Arthur was only a few feet above the park.

"Oh no." Arthur stopped as the other flew in front of him, preventing him from going any further. "Leaving so soon? You're not getting away from me _that _easily. After all, where's the entertainment in that?"

"What entertainment?" Arthur backed away as he stalled for time, planning to wait for the best opportunity for escape. "_Your_ idea of 'entertainment' is tormenting an innocent little baby."

"What's yours then? Reading to the elderly? Giving lollipops to children? Spreading joy to the world? Oh please." The devil was derisive as he lifted Arthur's chin with his tail, forcing their eyes to meet. "That's rather boring isn't it? You can't honestly believe that that's _fun_, do you? What a load of crap." Arthur winced at his choice of words, but what really got him was how this devil was mocking everything Arthur and his kind did. "I'd much prefer tormenting humans than any of those options any day now. Actually, anything _you _wouldn't like to do would be my idea of entertainment." The other smiled fiendishly. "There needs to be a dark side to everything and that's our job, so really, why do you expect me to be the saint I'm clearly not?"

_I've had enough of this. _Arthur smacked the devil's tail away, ignoring the small burn on the spot where it had touched his chin. "That's the problem with you fiends. You think you're all so smart, when really, you're all just sorry manifestations of evil with nothing better to do than ruining the lives of innocents."

"That would make you guys sorry manifestations of good with nothing better to do than bettering the lives of innocents, right?" The devil beamed. "Sorry sweetheart, but you're going to have to try harder than that to put a dent in my armor."

Arthur crinkled his nose. What _did he just call me? _"I'd rather not have you devils act so familiarly with me." While there was no telling what the devil was planning to do to him, Arthur at least wanted his pride and honor intact.

"Oh? You're so high and mighty now. How sad. Tell me, what happened to the stuttering fool from a while ago? I miss him actually." The devil ruffled Arthur's hair, his cold hands grazing over his skull. Arthur batted the hand away immediately, not wanting to be touched by a creature as evil as him. "Such a cute little angel like you should act more submissive. After all, you _are _younger than me."

_Submissive my wing feather, just who does he think he is?! _"You're the same age as me!"

"We have no way of proving that, do we?" As the devil wagged a finger at him, Arthur felt the temperature around him drop suddenly. "But I fear we have strayed away from our _original_ topic."

Without warning, the devil wrapped an arm around Arthur's waist, bringing Arthur closer to him. "H-hey!" Arthur squirmed as he tried to set himself free from the devil's tight grip. "Let me go!"

"I still need to punish you for ruining my fun, don't I?" A shot of adrenaline coursed through Arthur's veins at his words.

"I said, let me go!" Arthur kept on struggling until he was free. He backed away as quickly as he could. "I don't need to be 'punished' for doing what's right!"

"Ah, but what's right for you is wrong for us, so really, you performed a wrongdoing by my standards." To Arthur's terror, the other was inching closer towards him.

"Stay back!" Arthur tried to run away faster, but the devil was catching up. "I swear, I'll-"

Arthur wasn't prepared for the sudden burst of speed that propelled the devil to him. Without warning, the devil cupped the sides of his face, pulling Arthur in for a kiss before the angel could react.

A jolt went through Arthur the moment their lips touched. A typhoon of emotions attacked Arthur, none of them wanted. Even though the kiss was sloppy and inexperienced, he felt as if his head was in the clouds. His whole body was on fire, as if someone had stuffed the sun into him.

It was intoxicating, and Arthur hated it.

_No, no, NO!_ Arthur should have been feeling disgust at being kissed by a male- a male_ devil_, at that- but pleasure was threatening to override his systems. Not only that, but for a devil to kiss another being… _This isn't happening! This isn't happening! This _can't _be happening!_

Arthur barely noticed when the other pulled away from him. He knew that the devil was in front of him, but it was like he couldn't see the other at all. He touched his lips, trying to confirm what had just happened. "What… what…" Arthur could feel his face heat up. "What…"

"If only I could stay." The devil sighed wistfully. "Unfortunately for us, unwanted company seems to be on its way here as we speak. Pity, since that means I can't play with you anymore today."

"Wha… You…" Suddenly, Arthur felt a torrent of emotions he had never felt before. Rage, loathing, and a deep sense of hatred swirled inside him as he forced himself to not attack the devil. "You... you... you filthy incubus, you marked me!" He called him the first thing that came up on his mind. "You'll pay for this!"

"Please, if I was _really_ an incubus, then what makes you think I'd let you off with _just_ a kiss?" Arthur's rage increased as the devil chuckled. "As for marking you, I'm glad to see that you're aware of the gravity of what I had just done. While incubi, succubae, and lesser demons can kiss normally, for a devil to do so would be marking the other and thus permanently claiming whoever was marked. Honestly, I don't see how you didn't see this coming; you're quite alluring you know, so how could I resist?" The other's eyes narrowed at Arthur, the predatory glint returning to his ice blue eyes. "But let's test the strength of your words, shall we?"

The devil flew closer to Arthur and gripped the angel's chin with one of his hands. Their faces were close to touching, and Arthur found himself trapped in the devil's eyes.

"Find me little angel," the devil sneered. "Let's see if your pitiful pledge for vengeance has been heard."

The devil flew off immediately afterwards. Arthur made no move to go after him, his hands clenched at his sides as he watched the devil fly away. _One day, I will find you. _He glared at the devil's back. _I promise that I will never stop searching for you, and when I find you…_

_You _will_ pay._

_Years later…_

Arthur flew over the small town. The day was pleasant and cool, perfect weather to go outside and just relax. Clouds were rolling across the beautiful blue sky as the sun shed gentle rays. Trees were practically everywhere at town, either at the yards and backyards of houses and apartments or lined up next to the sidewalk. Cars moved in and out of the road, but it was generally pretty quiet because of the lack of busy traffic. Every now and then you'd see a person or two jogging or biking, but most seemed to have wanted to stay inside today.

Basically, it was a nice day to be flying around.

_Concentrate Arthur. _Arthur forced himself to keep flying. _You can take a rest _after_ you've finished your patrols._

Devil activity had been on the rise lately to celebrate the rise of a new devil lord. For Arthur's enemies, this was a rather important event. Like any species, they were ranked in special orders. At the lowest level were the lesser demons, which were any demon that did not fit any other category, although demons of a higher standing called anything below them a 'lesser demon'. Incubi and succubae were above them, but more often than not they were lumped in with the rest of the lesser demons. Above them were the devils, which ranged from pitifully weak to absurdly powerful and had their own ranks among them. Finally, the class above them was devil lord, which was the equivalent to a higher angel. Being a devil lord was the hardest title to achieve other than the greater devils above them. Among them, the devil lords and ladies were ranked with numbers, with the higher number being a better ranking. The new devil lord was apparently of a high number, which was why the devils had suddenly started targeting humans like crazy in "celebration".

Naturally the angels took action against the devils' antics. Like the rest of his rank, Arthur had been chosen to take care of this problem. He had lost count of exactly how many demons he had bested, but none of them mattered to him. While it did help in the long run against the devil problem, it hadn't solved _his_ problem.

He still hasn't found that devil.

Years had passed since Arthur last saw him, and while it was short for their standards, it was much too long for Arthur's liking. In all those years Arthur had never stopped looking, taking the most outrageous missions in the hopes of finding the devil that had ruined his life.

_How long has it been, I wonder?_ Arthur couldn't control the bitterness in his thoughts; being alone, and knowing that you would be alone for as long as you lived, had its toll on you. When a devil marked another being, it meant that whoever was marked were the devil's mate for as long as the devil lived. If a marked person tried to select a partner that was not that devil, then the marked person would be punished, the same happening vice versa. It was why devils took taking a mate so seriously, because ironically enough, they were stuck with that person for as long as they lived (Arthur didn't know why the devils of all species had to live with that, but he had a feeling that the angels managed to enforce that on them somehow).

Since Arthur was marked, that meant that while his brothers were busy choosing their partners (a person of the opposite sex that was both their teammate as well as their mate) Arthur had to be by himself. For an angel to not be partnered was rare, but for them to not state a credible reason as to _why_ they decided to stay unpartnered when they reached a specific age was a crime in all but name. For every species- even the devils- finding a partner was everything. When one found a partner, they found that their power rose greatly because of them, so it had become tradition for angels to find a partner as soon as they could. While there were the odd angels out who refused to have a partner, they had to tell the higher-ups their reason why, whether it was because they simply didn't want one or if it was because of a critical illness of some sort or it was because they haven't found a suitable one yet. Everyone knew that Arthur wanted a partner, so it became suspicious when he didn't try to get a partner and that he had point-blank refused to get one. Arthur hated having to keep secrets from everyone he cared about, but if he ever told anyone that he had been marked by a devil- and by a male as well, which was scandalous in their eyes- would cause him to be banished, and Arthur didn't want that.

He shook his head. _Thinking about that doesn't change anything; only action can._

Knowing that he could never have a partner, Arthur instead focused his attention on his skills. Ever since that incident, he had studied day in and day out to learn everything he thought was helpful in beating the devil. Every day he had trained so that he could be the best he could be in combat, even managing to get the highest ranks in archery, close quarters combat, and magic. His hard work eventually led him to become promoted to being a higher angel, and it was then was he pardoned for not having a partner without good reason. With that pardon, people finally stopped pestering him for a reason, although he knew that they were all curious as to what it was. _And I can never tell them._ The memory of the incident flashed in his mind.

Arthur had grown since their last encounter. No longer was he timid or nervous; now he was proud and capable. Even his change of clothes showed how much he had changed from that day. His toga now covered his chest, golden clasps holding the material up; the toga was also lined with gold, to differentiate the higher angels from the others. A brown belt was tied around his waist with a small holder for a wand, although Arthur had opted out to not bringing it with him today (wands only enhanced an angel's magic, and Arthur's magic was strong enough on its own, so he didn't always have to bring it with him). Instead, he had his bow slung across his back, the bow itself made from fusing together two slightly curved daggers. Arthur could separate the bow to dual-wield the daggers, but he could also keep the bow's form to shoot arrows made from his magic. Like this, he felt like he could take on that devil any day now.

Arthur didn't notice when he had flown into a park. It wasn't the prettiest park around, but there was something comforting in its small hills, dirt paths, thin trees, and paucity of benches. What really made the park shine was the amount of happy humans around: families were everywhere in the park doing activities like playing volleyball or eating at the picnic area, while the children played at a nearby playground structure.

The scene was peaceful and content, but it did nothing for Arthur's nerves.

_The feeling still comes from this spot…_ Arthur thought as he flew towards the swing set in the playground structure. He had been taught how to keep his shivering under control so that it simmered to only be a feeling in the back of his mind; he had also been taught how to enhance the skill, so now it was slightly more effective. From what his sense told him, he knew that a devil would harm a human here, so he had been patrolling this area for days now. The feeling was strongest at the swing set for some reason, but Arthur hadn't seen any devil go near the town for days. Today however, the feeling was strong enough that Arthur started shivering again despite the fact that the last time he shivered like this was when…

_Soon…_ He thought as he rubbed his arm. _The devil will come here soon. _When exactly he didn't know, but he knew that he didn't need to wait much longer. _That means one less devil in the world, and hopefully, it's the one that I need to kill._

He watched was a small boy climbed onto one of the swings. The child tried to propel himself on the swing, but his legs were too short and couldn't reach the ground. The angel chuckled as he waved a hand, propelling the boy a little. The boy laughed as Arthur continued to push him using his magic, not questioning how the swing was moving on his own (perhaps he believed that his swaying could actually push himself forward). _I'm really glad I'm an angel…_ Arthur thought absent-mindedly as he used his magic to help the boy. _It's worthwhile making them happy._

Suddenly, foreign arms held Arthur back as two arms locked across his chest. He stiffened as he felt someone's breath on his left ear, a face being pressed on the side of his head. "Well, well, what do we have here?" The voice held a dangerous curiosity to it that sent a shiver going through Arthur's spine. _This person…_ Arthur thought as he fought hard to keep his shivering under control. _I have to be careful; this being is absurdly strong. _ "I didn't think it was worth higher angels' time to help such a mundane creature."

"Who are you?"

He could feel the other smile beside him. "Just a sweet devil who only wants to play."

Arthur heard the other snap his fingers. Dark magic enveloped the boy as the swing went higher and faster at a dangerous rate. All activity stopped as the boy screamed, a piercing sound that cut through Arthur's heart.

"You're putting him in danger!" Arthur struggled to get out of the other's grip, but the devil was stronger than him. "Stop this foolishness at once!"

The devil chuckled. "Why should I? That would ruin everything."

Arthur kept his eyes locked on the boy as the swing went higher and faster. The people around him panicked as they were too powerless to save him. From here Arthur could see that the boy was holding onto the side of the swing for dear life, but even he could see that his grip was slackening. It was only a matter of time before the boy let go.

"Let me go, I have to save him!" He struggled harder, but to no avail. "I demand that you let me go at once!"

The devil snorted, but he sounded distracted. "You're running out of time and you try ordering me to let go? Show me your moves, angel, and then let's see if you really deserve your title."

Suddenly, Arthur was free. He shot straight for the boy, who at the same time, had let go at the peak of the swing's velocity. He seemed to be hanging midair for a couple of nanoseconds before gravity came into play. Crowds gathered around the boy as he started to plummet.

_No!_ Arthur grabbed the boy before he hit the ground. He looked at him and although he was unconscious, Arthur was glad to see that the boy was safe. Meanwhile, the crowd was clamoring around him, worried and shocked murmurs trying to figure out what had just transpired and if the boy was alright. _No good…_ Arthur thought as he looked at the humans' worried faces. _This is too much for a human to handle… If I let them be, who knows how large this "freak accident" can become, especially since it still looks like he's floating in midair right now._

Arthur set the boy down and flew above the ground. He took in a deep breath and exhaled, allowing his magic to cover the crowd of people in a fog. He watched as their eyes glazed over in the grip of his magic. _This should make them forget what had happened, _he thought as the magic dispersed, revealing a confused crowd.

"Well done." Arthur whipped his head around to face the devil that had attacked. The devil clapped slowly, a look of excitement on his face. "I see you managed to save him in the end, although I see that you haven't learned your lesson yet."

Uneasiness pooled in Arthur's gut as he looked at the devil. The devil was a rather tall male who was slightly taller than Arthur and had the build of one who worked out. He was wearing a smoky gray bomber jacket with black fur lining on the collar, a plain black shirt under that. Dark trousers tucked into combat boots finished the look, giving the devil a look somewhat akin to that of a soldier. Two daggers were sheathed at his side, although the devil made no attempt to grab them. A spark ignited in the corner of Arthur's mind. _Can it be…?_ "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you don't remember me?" The devil frowned mockingly. "Is it the glasses? Or am I getting pudgier? You know, maybe I really _am_ gaining weight if you can't even recognize me…." He was making fun of Arthur, but he could care less at the moment. Right now, he felt as if he had been frozen over.

_It can't be…_ The hair was the same, even with the little hair sticking up on the right side, except this devil had glasses on. _No, but…_ Glasses or no glasses, the devil's ice blue eyes were much too familiar for it not to be…

"I don't know you." He stepped back, unsure if the devil really was him or not.

The devil smirked. "And here I wanted to believe that you had been running on revenge for all these years. How disappointing…" He shook his head once before looking at Arthur again. "But I must say, I hope you don't plan on making it a habit to run into me every time I do something remotely entertaining. It's bothersome, you know…" His smirk grew. "But when all is said and done, it really doesn't change the fact that you ruined my fun."

_It really is him._

Quick as a flash, Arthur grabbed his bow and separated it into two daggers. He sheathed one of them to keep his magic hand free. He flew towards the devil in an attempt to attack him, but missed when the devil sidestepped away. Arthur turned to him.

"You!" Arthur was quivering. "It's you!"

"Why yes, I believe it is me. Hm, maybe it really _is _the glasses…" He felt his blood boil as he watched the devil adjust the glasses on his face casually. "Would you like me to remove them?"

Arthur didn't even bother answering his ridiculous question as he went for another attack. This time, he aimed for the devil's gut, but the devil caught his wrist before the dagger could even touch his clothes.

"How rude. Don't you know that heroes usually let their villains finish their speeches and such?" He tugged Arthur closer to him, making sure that Arthur's dagger was pointed away from him. "So how have you been, little angel? Still trying to spread joy to the world?"

Arthur ignored him. "Let me go!"

"What, so you can 'kill' me?" Arthur felt adrenaline rush to him when he heard the other scoff. It was obvious that he didn't think much of him at all. _How wrong he is. _"I'd like to see you try. You couldn't even fight me before."

"That's because I had no weapons back then."

He kicked the devil in between the legs. While the other was stunned, Arthur twisted his hand free and drove it to the devil's side. It would have hit if a small barrier of dark energy hadn't stopped the dagger from connecting with the other's skin.

_I saw that coming. _Arthur started focusing his energy on his left hand, preparing to attack the other with his magic. The other saw what he was trying to do and attacked Arthur's hand with a weak fireball. While it didn't hurt him in the slightest, it managed to make him lose concentration, throwing him off-balance and causing the focused energy on his hand to evaporate.

The devil jumped back. "I see you've actually learned how to fight. As expected of the one who got rid of so many of my kin. Tell me, how did you manage to do it? I could care less that you're killing them off…" Arthur was shocked to hear the scorn in his voice. _Does he not like his own kind? _Devils hating each other were common, but this one seemed to have a dislike for them like no other. _Now isn't the time to be thinking about that!_ He focused back on the devil. "…but some of them were actually capable. You'd had to have caught them by surprise for them to fall so easily."

_That's because I did._ "It doesn't matter." Arthur unsheathed his dagger so that he was wielding a dagger in both hands. "All that matters is that you're here, and that I can finally deal you the justice you evaded all those years ago."

"'Justice'? Don't make me laugh." The devil unsheathed both his daggers as well. "I believe that the word you're looking for is 'revenge'."

Arthur chose not to reply. Instead, he charged towards the devil after he had finished his sentence. The two beings clashed in a speed unlike any other, a blur of ice blue versus a blur of emerald green. The devil kept on parrying Arthur's strikes, but Arthur kept on going, relentlessly attacking the other. _This is it,_ Arthur thought as he attacked. _The fight is on._

The devil pushed Arthur back when they were locked in a standstill after a successful parry on the devil's part. While Arthur was recovering, the devil blasted him with otherworldly flames. Pain shot through Arthur as the flames engulfed him. _N-no…_ The pain was intolerable as flames threatened to devour him. _I can't be finished off here…_

Thinking fast, Arthur summoned a portal beneath him and fell through it, teleporting a distance behind the devil. Soundlessly, he combined his daggers together to form his bow. Taking a deep breath, Arthur took on an open stance and nocked a light arrow.

"Pity." He heard the devil say as he charged his arrow with his magic. "You shouldn't have died from that. That was hardly my strongest attack."

Arthur smiled grimly. "This would be one of mine."

The devil turned towards him and before he could react, Arthur released the arrow. The arrow whizzed through the air, and having been created by magic, shot straight towards its target. The arrow connected with the devil's chest, exploding upon contact.

_There, that should do i-_ Arthur froze as he watched the devil focus his magic on his hand. His hand was glowing with an ice blue flame as he went over the wound. Only an idiot wouldn't have realized that the devil was healing himself.

Arthur quickly nocked another arrow and started charging it again. He finished charging the arrow by the time the devil finished healing his wound. Before he could release the arrow, the devil threw one of his daggers at him. Like a blur, the dagger buried itself in the exact same spot the devil had been hit with Arthur's arrow. Arthur recoiled back and dropped his bow.

"Agh!" If the flames had been terrible, this was much worse. It was like something had buried a poisoned drill inside of him or throwing a bomb in his chest. Arthur doubled over and covered himself with his magic as he slowly pulled the dagger out of him. "What… what did you do to this dagger?" For all the devils and demons he had fought, none of their weapons hurt quite like this. While their attacks had hurt, it was always something Arthur could easily heal in under a few seconds; this time, however, the damage was great enough that it would probably take days for the wound to completely heal.

"I see you can heal yourself." The devil said as he approached Arthur. "Although it won't do you much good; that dagger is made with the finest iron my kind can use, and seeing as how my magic is within it, I doubt that wound of yours will heal easily."

Arthur moved the dagger to one hand and focused his magic to his free one, covering the bloody wound as he tried to heal it. He barely noticed the devil take back his dagger. "My, it seemed to have pierced inside you quite deeply." He heard the other say. "Does it hurt?"

Arthur focused his magic on both of his hands as he hunched over and clutched where he was struck. "I refuse to lose to you." Bold words, but Arthur didn't want to think that he was done for, especially since he had spent years trying preparing for this day.

The devil chuckled. "Sweetheart, I don't think you're in any position to tell me that. I can finish you off right here and now, but I won't. Not anytime soon."

"Why not?" If Arthur was in the devil's place, he would have killed the other off in a heartbeat. "Why keep me alive? These things… you won't stop, will you? If somehow, I live past today… You'll just find me and do horrible things to me, and then let me loose just to repeat this cycle…" They've only met twice so far, but Arthur had a sick feeling in his gut that the devil planned to prolong his torture for as long as possible. "Why?"

"That's easy!" He heard the other lean over towards him. "It's because I enjoy playing with you too much!"

_What._

Arthur's life flashed before his eyes. He remembered his family and friends asking each other behind his back if Arthur seemed different after he had slipped into the human world that day. He remembered spending almost everyday training so that he could stand a chance against the devil once he found him. He remembered his friends asking him to stop studying for once and have fun and maybe meet a partner. He remembered his friends and brothers slowly get partners each until Arthur was the only one without one. He remembered facing the higher-ups and evading their questions as they pressed him with "Why do you refuse to look for a partner even though you want one? What is your reason?" He remembered how he couldn't tell anyone- not even Flying Mint Bunny, his closest friend- that he was marked by a devil.

"Playing?" Arthur's voice was blank. The pain in his chest suddenly vanished. "That's what you call it? Ruining me is what you call '_playing'?_"

He lashed out at the devil, sending the other flying away. Arthur stood up and glared at the other, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Do you realize what you did all those years ago?!" Arthur screamed at the devil. Somehow, he had lost both of his daggers and his glasses seemed to have fallen out of his face, but Arthur didn't care about that. Everything seemed to be unleashed, as if his feelings were the water behind a destroyed dam. "Because of you, I had to keep a secret that did nothing but get me in trouble! Every day, people would ask me the same questions, and I could never answer them! Why? Because if I ever told them, I would be banished for sure!" His voice kept on rising. "All these years, I've been isolated more than I have ever been before, and I can't even tell the people that care why! All these years I spent training until I felt like puking, but I could never stop! Why? Because it was all so that I could find you! And this was all because you marked me!"

Arthur brought his hands closer together. A ball of light started to form in his arms as he charged his magic for a beam. His voice came out unexpectedly low the next time he spoke. "There's only one way to stop being marked, and I plan to take it."

He released the beam of light, energy surging through his palms in that one attack. He wasn't aware of what he was doing, only knowing that he was this close to finishing off the other. _Work, please work… _He focused all his pent-up emotions on his attack. _Please work, so that I can finally end my pain._

Suddenly, he noticed that the beam was being parted towards the middle. Laughter rang in his ears as the devil was suddenly face-to-face with Arthur, a wide smile on his face.

"How pointless." Arthur felt his hope drain away as the other grabbed both of his hands and lifted them over his head. "If you wanted me to remove my glasses, you should have just said so instead of removing them yourself."

_I'm done for._ Arthur thought, but he couldn't help but notice how weird it was for the other to keep on bringing up his glasses. "Why should I care about your glasses?!"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it would have been useful for you to have known that it was what limited my power." Arthur felt as if he had been dipped in a frozen stream. _Power… limiter? He was using… a power limiter?_ Arthur's mind went blank. _No…_ While he had been fighting at full strength, the devil had been holding back this whole time. Now that his glasses were gone, he was at full power…

And Arthur had been caught.

Arthur looked up when the other shook him, horrified to see a predatory glint in the other's eyes. "What's the matter, scared?" The other grinned. "After all, you'll get no sympathy from me."

_Sympathy?_ Even though he was in no position to be feeling this way, Arthur felt infuriated. _I don't need your pity._ "Do your worst, fiend!"

He tried to kick the other, only for the devil to encase his legs with his magic. He felt something bind his hands together, so now both his legs and arms were bound together with magic. The devil leaned closer so that their noses were touching.

"I plan to."

The devil tilted his head as he kissed Arthur for the second time in their lives. The feeling of intense pleasure returned, only this time, it was much stronger. As much as he tried to fight it, Arthur became more and more lost in the kiss as he became drunk with ecstasy. Some small part of him was trying to fight it, but the majority of him didn't want this to stop, going far enough to want...

Something caught Arthur's eyes. His rational mind came back to him as he broke away from the kiss.

"What did you do that for?" Arthur ignored the devil's growl.

"They're coming." The devil looked behind him to see the horde of angels coming their way. "They must have seen me lose control of my power a while ago, or maybe they saw yours. Either way, they're coming." Strength slowly came to Arthur as he realized that maybe he really did stand a chance of losing his mark after all. He glared at the other. "You'll be surrounded."

"Not on my watch." To his surprise, the devil retracted his magic and set Arthur free. "Again, unwanted company seems to be coming our way. I wonder, must all our meetings be like this?" The devil sighed as he summoned a swirling mass of black air- a portal. "At any rate, it seems that I must go."

"Hey wait a minute!" To have him this close to getting rid of him, to be this close to finally being free, only to have the other slip away was… "You're not going anywhe-"

Arthur froze in place as ice blue eyes bore into him in a glare. His mind became hazy as the devil spoke. "I believe that I am. You will let me go, and you will continue to find me."

_Ch-charmspeak! _It was a skill that enabled the listener to do what the speaker says, but Arthur didn't want to follow what the other was saying. _I can't…_ He tried to fight under the other's influence, but it was too strong. _I can't fight it! _Despite every fiber of Arthur's body telling him to go after the devil and not let him get away, Arthur nodded his head. He watched painfully as the devil started to leave, but then saw him look back at Arthur.

"Find happiness, little angel." The haze disappeared from Arthur's mind. "Stop being so bitter. You may hate what I have done to you, but you grew up to be a formidable angel, one that could even hold his own against me. That in itself is spectacular…" The devil hesitated. "So stop being bitter and find happiness… just don't find another partner. After all…" He smirked at Arthur. "You belong to me, remember?"

Arthur was too stunned to move. _H-huh?_ He watched as the devil disappeared against the portal, not looking back. _Why was he praising me…?_

When the angels finally reached Arthur, they asked why his face was red.

'''''

"Arthur, are you alright?!"

The little bunny tackled his chest the minute Arthur walked past the door. He chuckled as he petted the mint green bunny that was burying his head in his chest. "Flying Mint Bunny, I'm alright," he assured the other as he walked inside.

His house was quaint and tiny, an odd choice for a higher angel. The walls were made of a wood painted a calming eggshell white color, the ceilings painted wheat gold. He kept on walking until he reached the dining-slash-living room. The carpet was a light leaf green, the light from the windows on the side illuminating the color beautifully. A comfy couch and a coffee table were on one side of the room, a small round dining table for two on the other. At the far end of the room was an earthy brown marble countertop, the kitchen past that.

Arthur settled on the couch, leaning his head on the window behind him. "Flying Mint Bunny, you can let go of me now."

The bunny detached himself from Arthur and hovered in front of him. "Did you run into any devils? Were you attacked?!" He asked frantically.

"Did something happen while I was gone?" Arthur asked, evading the questions. The other nodded.

"A messenger angel was attacked! They were on their way here from headquarters, but then they were ambushed by a devil!" Arthur sat up at this news.

"What?! Is he or she alright?"

"Critical condition when they found him, but he's fine now." He relaxed, but Flying Mint Bunny was still panicking. "Arthur, didn't you hear me? The messenger angel was on their way _here_ when he was attacked!"

"Yes, but they're fine now, so I don't see wh-." His eyes widened as he realized what Flying Mint Bunny had said. "Wait… the message was for me?"

"Yes and the first was stolen, but…" Flying Mint Bunny flew off and returned with a sheaf of papers in his paws. "Even though the original message was stolen, headquarters apparently made copies. We have around five lying around the house!"

"Okay, so let me look at them." Flying Mint Bunny shook his head.

"Tell me how your mission went first."

"Won't you tell me what's in the message?" The other shook his head again.

"I apologize for looking through it before you, but if I tell you what's on here, then you'd never tell me what went on your mission." Arthur quirked an eyebrow but complied anyways.

"I ran into the devil that I sensed would come there."

"And? Did it go well? You lost your bow, so…" Arthur waved away the bunny's concern.

"My bow is not lost; I just sent it over at the smithy so they could fix it. After all, it did take quite a hit when it fell."

"Fell?!" Flying Mint Bunny looked alarmed. "Arthur, what exactly happened?! You're not careless enough to drop your own bow! You were attacked, weren't you?!" Flying Mint Bunny kept on talking, not giving Arthur a chance to interrupt. "See! This is why you have to get a partner pronto! I know that for some reason you refuse to have one, but you've been _attacked _Arthur, and I can tell that you're practically drained off your magic! Whatever fight you had, it's obvious that you had a hard time with it! If you had a partner, then-"

"Flying Mint Bunny," Arthur sighed. "We've had this talk before. My answer still remains the same: I can't get a partner, and that's final."

"Yeah but if you had one, you'd be a lot saf…" Flying Mint Bunny's wings drooped as he looked at the stern glare on Arthur's face. "Well, let's see if you don't change your mind after hearing this news."

He held up the sheaf of papers and looked at them. "It's pretty long, but basically it says that HQ wants you to go defeat a being from the Underworld." He looked at Arthur expectantly. He shrugged in reply.

"Okay. I don't see what's so dangerous about this mission; this is hardly the first time I've been assigned to exterminate something from the Underworld."

"Yeah, well, this one's super tough." Flying Mint Bunny looked through another piece of paper. "It says here that he's been bred in captivity along with his brother. When the greater devils tested the brothers, they realized that this one was the stronger of the two and commenced training him to become the Underworld's greatest weapon, making sure that he would the best of their projects."

"An animal?" Arthur frowned. Demonic creatures could be tough, but they barely reached the level of lesser demons. "That's unusual, but I'll accept i-"

"Arthur, what are you talking about? This isn't some demonic creature, this is a devil lord. Actually, this is the devil who recently _became_ a devil lord."

"What?" Arthur blinked as he looked at Flying Mint Bunny's perplexed gaze. "But the way you talked made it seem like…" He shook his head. "Continue."

"He's apparently a troublemaker and has caused all sorts of trouble for their kind, but has more than made up for those troubles since then. Arthur, don't you see?" Flying Mint Bunny looked up from the papers. "You _have_ to get a partner now! Unlike the others, this is no mere devil lord! He's deadly!"

"I'll be fine, Flying Mint Bunny, I've defeated devil lords before. Just read me the titles already." Arthur hated getting short with him, but it was necessary that he kept his secret. Flying Mint Bunny frowned but read out the titles anyways.

"'Conqueror of the Seven Deadly Trials, Prized Fighter of the Demonic Race, Commander of the Crimson Legion, Painter of the Bloody Ground, Lighter of the Icy Flames, Master of the Hellish Games, 666th Devil Lord of the Underworld…'"

"Fancy titles, the lot of them." Flying Mint Bunny frowned at Arthur's indifference. "Sure they're a change from what they usually have, but I bet that I can still beat him by myself."

"If you're so sure…" He flipped through the pages. "Here, I'll show you a picture of what you're facing…"

Arthur snorted. "All right, but I honestly doubt that this one will be a probl-" Flying Mint Bunny held up the picture.

"His name is Alfred F. Jones."

Arthur froze as he took in the details of the picture. His heart thumped uncontrollably as he was faced with the same bomber jacket and the same glasses he had seen earlier today; more importantly, he recognized the same tousled black hair with a flyaway piece of hair and ice blue eyes.

This was his devil.

"Arthur…?" He turned slowly towards his companion. "Are you alright? Maybe I should go tell HQ to give this job to someone el-"

"_No."_ The other was shocked at the intensity of Arthur's voice. "This devil is mine to deal with and mine alone, and no one else is allowed to even _scratch _him but me." He straightened himself out. "I accept the mission."

"What?!" Flying Mint Bunny dropped the papers. "You know from his titles that he isn't like the others! Plus he's not some run-of-the-mill devil lord, he's a trained weapon! You can't do this!"

"I _must_ take him on by myself." He snatched the paper from the other's paws. "I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do alone. Just trust me on this, okay?"

"But Arthur, if even _HQ_ considers him a threat, then maybe you should…" He looked at Arthur's face and nodded. "If that's what you want, then all right."

Arthur nodded to him in thanks and then turned back to the piece of paper. _The way they described him, it was like they were describing an animal…_ Arthur couldn't help but feel pity for the other, even though for years now, he had done nothing but hate him._ Even though I am the 'hunter' and he is my 'prey', I know that I can never kill him. The gap between our skills is too wide, and I doubt that I can catch up… _His mind went back to their battle. _I know this is foolish, but… _

The devil's- Alfred's- last words to him rang in his ears. _'Be happy', he had said… Well, making other people happy is what brings me joy. It's why I'm an angel in the first place, so… _Arthur looked at the picture, making another promise to himself as he stared at the familiar ice blue eyes.

_I'll save you instead._

Let the hunt begin.

* * *

_Kudos to anyone who gets my references. Wow, I tried a lot of new things in this fic. I hope that it ended up okay (if I made any mistakes especially regarding weapon use, please correct me). I apologize for my plot-making skills, I'm still working on them._

_If you liked this story, then I highly recommend you read its partner "A Game of Cat and Mouse". At any rate, happy Valentine's Day everyone!_


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